Sunday, April 27, 2008

“Eaglet in Norfolk”

After a long weekend of watching and waiting we finally have an eaglet. Throughout the day both Sat. and Sun. the adults were restless, frequently peering down into the nest bowl as they incubated. Occasionally the female on the nest would assume a brooding posture, slightly higher in the nest, thus creating a pocket of space. All of this attention was to the industrious chick, busy struggling out of its egg!

Video captures posted to eagle watching forums show a brief, but definite view of the eaglet at 3:50 pm. This is great news considering the struggles this pair have endured this year. True to form this pair had an extended incubation with the egg hatching on its 37th day. Until the eaglet gets a bit larger we'll be limited to brief glimpses of grayish down.

Now we chronicle the growth and development of this eaglet until the day it fledges in 8-14 weeks.

“And Waiting”

We continue to watch the Norfolk Botanical Garden eagles for any signs that they have a hatchling. The depth of the nest bowl screens the egg from view so we have to rely on the parent's behavior to monitor whats happening. If the egg has hatched we'll be able to see the parents feeding it, something we haven't detected as of yet. In addition, at the time of this post the adult on the nest is in a classic incubation posture. When brooding, the eagles tend be slightly more upright.

Remember that this pair has a history of extended incubation, so we're still well within the normal range for these eagles.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

“Waiting”

Its been refreshing to have not much to post about our Eagles for the last two weeks. In general all has been calm. Some nights the eagles are very alert, perhaps reacting to a Great Horned Owl in the vicinity, but we haven't had any of the drama that unfolded earlier in this season. The eagles were noted mating yesterday. This behavior won't result in any more eggs. Rather it serves to further strengthen the pair bond of these two eagles.

The typical incubation time of bald eagle eggs is about 35 days although this pair seems to incubate a bit longer then this. The incubation times for last year's eggs averaged abut 38 days. We should expect to see an eaglet hatch sometime between the 25th & 29th of April.